


Tome of Terra

by MudkipzUniverse, Sammy1228



Series: Tomes of Purinity [1]
Category: Terraria
Genre: Combat, F/F, F/M, I will tag potential triggers at the beginning of each chapter, Lots of shipping, M/M, Me pulling lore out of my magic hat of bullshit, Original NPC Characters, Original Player Characters, Potential Sex IDK yet, Profanity, Shipping, The Slowest Burn In The West, lots of profanity, references to other media
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:14:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 8,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26688727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MudkipzUniverse/pseuds/MudkipzUniverse, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sammy1228/pseuds/Sammy1228
Summary: Quinn was banished to the world of Purinity as punishment for various crimes she had committed. Now stranded on an unknown world with nothing but a few flimsy copper tools and a very talkative man who calls himself The Guide, Quinn has only two options, to live or to die.But not everything is as it seems on this strange planetoid, with her arrival things have been set into motion that cannot be undone, and a great evil lurks beneath the emerald plains she stands on.One thing is for sure, even if she manages to escape, she will never be the same.
Series: Tomes of Purinity [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1942102
Comments: 6
Kudos: 5





	1. The Arrival

The sky was a beautiful cerulean, the grass a stunning emerald green, and the wind blew gently through the trees. A few bunnies hopped to and fro, a slime slimed it's way towards a man. A few quick arrows fired from his bow made short work of the creature and he continued his stroll. It was one of those mornings that you could just tell was made just to enjoy the outdoors, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, flowers were blooming. Really, it was as if the planetoid itself had set it up as a reward for it's inhabitants survival. Those who still breathed got to witness it's entrancing beauty without the usual threats that came with it. The man had made his way over to a tree, he took out an axe and began to chop. A few apples dropped and he took a few bites out of a particularly juicy looking one as he collected the fallen remains of the tree. 

"That should be about enough for now", the man said as he picked up the last few chunks of oak. He began walking eastwards, back to the small, modest hut he called home. It wasn't much, just a small wooden cabin with a furnace and some furniture. "Hmmm, this might just be enough to last me for another week or so, maybe I'll make that leftover rabbit into a pie. Yeah, that sounds good. Well, lets' see I'll need a list for that, which means paper.", the man began to search his cabin for some paper to write on, he found it not too long after he started looking and sat down to write. "Hmmm, lets see, I'll need pumpkins, mushrooms, a few apples, some thyme, rosemary, oh and some eggs...", he had nearly finished writing when a light brighter than anything natural filled the sky, washing out everything it touched until it shone a brilliant white. He knew what this meant, as he had seen it many times before. His home had just gained another resident. 

"YOU FUCKING COWARDS! YOU BETTER RUN, COME DOWN HERE AND I'LL KICK YOUR ASS SO HARD YOU'LL NEED SURGERY JUST TO SIT RIGHT AGAIN!! _YOU FUCKERS HEAR ME I SWEAR TO GOD-_ ", a woman with a tan complexion and green hair was screeching profanity and threats at the ship that had just deposited her onto the planet. The ship opted not to respond and it blasted off into hyperspace, leaving the woman on the strange planet with nothing but flimsy copper tools and an incomprehensible amount of rage. "Well, you're a chatty one aren't you? The last person to arrive just wandered off into the forest mumbling something about how "He deserved it". The name is Connor, I was sent here a few years ago because of a few charges from Lyfecorp.", Connor looked at the woman and smiled, he really hoped she wasn't one of the aggressive ones. The woman looked him up and down, and when she decided he wasn't a threat, she outstretched her hand, "I'm Quinn, let's cut to the chase, where am I and how do I leave?", Quinn's tone had the air of somebody who had been through far too much shit for just one morning, something Connor could relate to. "You my friend have just been banished to the planetoid Purinity! It's a bit rough around the edges, but it's home!".

Quinn took a proper look around for the first time since her arrival, the planetoid was absolutely stunning, but she could sense that there was something off about the land she now stood on. "So what are you, my Guide or something?", Connor looked at her and chuckled. "Yeah, sure friend, now let's go get you something to eat.", Quinn nodded and followed Conner towards his cabin, but she still couldn't shake the feeling of something being wrong. 'It's probably nothing', she thought as the cabin came into view, 'yeah, it's nothing at all'.


	2. The Guest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conner is expecting a guest while Quinn grows restless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *insert smash character reveal music here*

It had been about a month since Quinn had arrived on Purinity. She had found a substantial amount of cactus on a trip to the desert with Conner that they took the last moon cycle, and after a few days of work and many pricked fingers, she had successfully crafted a set of very prickly armor and a very threating look sword. Quinn had been testing out her new gear extensively, and once she deemed herself ready went to confront Conner about a trip further into the forest for some real combat. "Conner! There you are!", Conner turned away from the furnace he was using, the familiar smell of roasted rabbit and herbs was once again present in the cabin. "Ah Quinn, back from practicing? Good, you can help me make the rest of these pies! My friend will be here tomorrow so I'm a bit stretched for time!", Conner jovially attended to his pies, he had mentioned this friend of his, Rosie, after they had gotten back from their trip.

He had described her as a miracle worker of sorts, a strange woman who was from a strange land. He had marveled about her healing ability, to the point Quinn wasn't entirely sure that she wasn't some pagan god he had accidentally summoned. "Yeah about that, how about we head deeper into the forest later, I think I'm about ready for real combat!", Quinn swung her sword to make a point, nearly smashing a vase. Conner looked at her with a very serious expression on his face, "Oh no, no no no no no. Quinn, I admire your tenacity, I really do, but the monsters here are things to be avoided, not pursued. Even the weakest ones can easily take down someone who is unprepared.", Conner turned back to his pies, a sign that the conversation was over, something Quinn learned pretty quickly in her time in his cabin. "You said once I got myself some real armor, that I could fight something! It took two whole days to make this cactus shit! Why are you going back on your word now?!", Quinn had crossed her arms and stared at Conner for an answer, when she got none, as she kind of expected, she huffed and stormed off. Conner watched her from the window, just to make sure, but was relieved when he saw her taking her frustration out on a tree instead of marching off deeper into the thicket.

They had a quiet dinner that night, neither starting a conversation. They both washed up fairly quickly and headed off to bed. Conner stayed up a bit later than usual, just so he could make absolutely sure that Quinn would stay put. After an hour or so, he finally turned in for the night. When Quinn finally heard the all to familiar sound of Conner's snoring, she hopped out of bed as quietly as she could. With a motion she had practiced when she had wanted to sneak out of bed to get a midnight snack without alerting her host, she swept down the stairs and into the side room where they both stored their armor and weapons. After donning her gear in silence she slipped out of the front door and into the night, determined to make Conner eat his words.

The next morning Conner awoke to the sound of birds chirping and a ruckus in the kitchen, he quickly got dressed and headed downstairs. He really hopped Quinn would be in a better mood this morning. Maybe he could sway her mood with a nice bowl of the berries he had found growing near the thickets edge yesterday. "Good morning Quinn, hope you slept well! I know we got into a bit of an argument yesterday but I was hopin-", Conner stopped dead in his tracks, Quinn wasn't the one making the noises, his new guest was. "Oh good morning Conner dear, would you like a spot of tea? I also have a few scones if you're hungry.", the new arrival stood in the center of his kitchen, her robes were black with a gold trim and her ivory mask peaked out from under her brimmed hat, a heart shaped veil trailed daintily behind her. Rosie had finally arrived, but that begged the question, "Where is Quinn?". 

Rosey tilted her head at him, "I'm sorry dear, who? Were you expecting another guest?", Conner's breath quickened, he stumbled down the stairs and into the rather pathetic excuse for an armory that he'd built. The shoddily made cactus gear was gone, and judging by the footprints he saw when he looked out the window, so was Quinn.


	3. The Forest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quinn has furthered deeper into the forest despite Conner's wishes.
> 
> It doesn't go well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Descriptions of suffocation and death ahead

Quinn had been walking for what seemed like hours, guided only by the light of the moon streaming through the branches of the trees overhead. 'This isn't bad at all! Why was Conner so upset about me doing this?', she thought to herself. As she trudged through the overgrowth of the forest floor, she heard a strange thinking sound overhead. She elected to ignore it, instead sticking closer to the trees and out of the moonlight. She occasionally heard guttural groaning coming from nearby, but whenever it got too close for comfort, she scaled a tree which seemed to make the creature producing the sound loose interest. 'This is fucking easy!', Quinn mused to herself, after all nothing had gone wrong as of yet.

The sun was just starting to clear the distant mountains when she came to a large clearing. It was chock full of bunnies, squirrels, and there were even some birds pecking about! She decided to stop here and rest, so she sat down in the grass and plucked some flowers from the ground, content to lay back and enjoy the breeze. Eventually Quinn dozed off and had a pretty decently long nap, until something woke her. Quinn sat up at attention, she had just heard a strange squishing sound come from nearby. After franticly searching the area she saw it, a small pink slime had bounced into the clearing, and it seemed to be looking at her. "Hello there little fella? Have you come for a sit?", Quinn cautiously approached it, she had heard from Conner that slimes could be dangerous, but this one was so little, it couldn't be bigger than her hand. The slime bounced closer, and closer, gaining speed with each landing. Quinn took out her sword, preparing for an easy fight.

The slime stopped suddenly and Quinn stared and prepared to swing her sword when the small pink mass launched itself into her stomach with a surprising amount of force. Quinn stumbled and fell back, the slime having knocked the breath out of her lungs. As she struggled for air the slime hopped onto her face and stuck itself firm over her mouth. She started to flail desperately for her sword, with it being just barley out of reach. Her lungs burned from the exertion of trying to pull in air but finding none, Quinn was getting dizzier by the second and her limbs became heavier and heavier in their armor. The sky above her started to go blurry and dark, and as she passed out she could just barley hear what she thought was frantic shuffling in the distance and a name being called. She was so tired, so, so very tired. She took one last attempt at gulping down some air before her body stopped fighting.

Conner and Rosie swept into the glade like a fearsome gale straight out of a thundercloud, Conner, who spotted the small slime, a Pinky he would recall later, quickly notched and arrow and fired a shot clean into it's side. The force of the shot pushed the slime off of Quinn's limp body and Conner went in for a melee kill while Rosie moved forward towards Quinn. After a few moments, the Pinky had fallen and Conner picked up it's remains, a generous handful of pink gel. He rushed over to where Quinn lie in the grass, her face pale. "Is she alright Rosie? She has no physical wounds, you are surely more than powerful enough to heal her!", Conner panicked, recalling his first encounter with the dangerous pink blob. "Well dearie, first of there is no healing her, she's dead.", Conner began to panic but she calmly held up her hand, "Second of all, you are right in your observation that I could heal her. However my dear friend, this situation calls for something a little more intense then my usual sessions...". Rosie stood from where she knelt in the grass and rose her arms up high, and with her palms facing the sky she began to chant. 

It was a strange language the Conner had never heard before. It was alien, and almost machine sounding. Sparks began to erupt from Rosie's open palms and they swiftly moved to encase Quinn's corpse in a ball of bright white light. As Rosie continued chanting the ball began to float, before it exploded and disappeared all together. "Rosie! Where, what, how?", Conner stood up abruptly and was frantically looking around like a mother hen who had lost her chicks. "Calm down dear, let us retire back to your cabin, your friend will be alright", and without another word, Rosie began the walk back to the cabin. Conner followed shortly and as they made their way into the thicket once more, she began to hum a strange tune.


	4. The Resurrection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quinn wakes up from what she thought was a strange dream in her bed in the cabin, however thing's aren't as they seem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Death mention

Quinn gasped and shot up in her bed, she had the most awful headache known to man so she rolled of her mattress and stumbled down the stairs to get a glass of water. After retrieving a glass from the cupboard and retrieving some water from the keg on the counter, she gulped it down like it was the last drink she would ever have. She then sat down to recall that strange dream she had. Well, it was more of a nightmare considering she got murdered by a microscopic pink blob. She barley had time to think before Conner burst through the front door and tackled her into a hug. "Hey Conner, what's wrong?", her speaking seemed to upset him further as he began to sob heavily onto her shoulder. A strange woman entered the cabin and looked her up and down, seemingly assessing her before nodding and sitting down at the table to drink from a cup of tea that surely must have been cold at this point. "Conner! What's wrong? Why are you crying? Who's this strange lady and why is she staring at me while sipping tea?", Conner looked up from his sobbing, his face red and covered in tears. "Y-you went out against my warning and-and-you-" "Oh dearie, you died.", Conner started to start sobbing again at the woman's words, while the woman herself continued sipping her tea. 

Quinn stood up abruptly, knocking Conner off of her, "What do you mean I _Died?!_ There is no way! Death is fucking permanent and that and the fact that the government will tax you to death are what holds the fabric of reality together!", Quinn frantically looked to Conner for support, "I-it's true Quinn, that Pinky you encountered had suffocated you before we could get to you!", Conner the sat up abruptly and turned to her, "And the reason it happened is because you! Didn't! Listen!", Conner had gone from being absolutely distraught to full of rage in seconds, and Quinn had absolutely no idea how to handle that on top of her growing confusion. "Ah Conner dear, do calm down, the stress isn't good for your blood pressure!", the woman, who Quinn had finally figured out was Rosie, stood up and walked over to Conner, gently pushing him into sitting in a chair. "While Conner here calms down, why don't I explain exactly what happened hmmm?", Rosie clapped her hands together. "Well first off, my name is Rosie and I am a healer", Rosie flourished her hand and trail of sparks followed it. "I can and have healed many injuries, from small cuts to severed arms, nothing is out of my range."

Rosie stepped closer to Quinn, and Quinn felt very uneasy being so close to her. "But you my dear, were beyond even my extortionary capabilities, or at least the ones I was born with. You see I am what you would call a practicing necromancer, yes the kind that raises the dead, which is coincidentally what I had to do for you dearie!", Rosie stepped back to the table to take one last sip of her tea before placing the empty cup down. "It was quite exciting actually, I've only ever raised old corpses out of death, not fresh ones. I couldn't exactly get my hands on the fresh ones back home but it seems if you continue being so careless I'll have an endless supply at my disposal!". 

"Necromancer? That sounds kind of illegal..." "Ah yes, it is, well on my planet, that is actually the reason why I'm here! Attempting a coup may have also played a roll in my banishment but I digress..", Rosie swept across the room once again, this time getting dangerously close to Quinn's face. "But I warn you dearie, my services come with a price, and necromancy is not a particularly safe craft, so listen to me and listen well", she stepped back, but only slightly, "Just because I can revive you, doesn't mean you should just prance off into a horde of monsters to get torn apart, I want you to be more careful from now on!", and with one final motion she revealed a metal tin from her robes. "Now that we have everything settled, would either of you dears like a scone?" 


	5. The Eye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a peaceful six months and a hell of a lot of wood a town stood where there had once been nothing. Haven was a beacon of peace and tranquility in a world of chaos and attracted other wayward travelers from miles around. One of these travelers will change the trajectory of Quinn's journey, if it is for better or for worse is still to be determined.

Six months had passed since Quinn's run in with death and in that time Quinn and Conner had successfully established a small village. They named the town Haven, and after just two weeks they were starting to get some permanent inhabitants. Mortimer, a Merchant, had arrived the soonest. He had offered full access to his wares in exchange for a permanent place to stay. Kaitlyn, who called herself a Nurse but nobody actually had proof of that claim, stated that if she was allowed to stay in the village that she would heal their wounds whenever it was needed. Tyrone and Norsun were the last to arrive, an Arms Dealer and Demolitionist respectively. They were practically inseparable and Quinn's fondness for all out destruction got them both a place in Haven. With everyone settled in and a sort of routine put into place, Quinn was the happiest she had been in months. 

The night sky was particularly clear that night, Quinn could see the stars twinkling and feel a light breeze blow by. "Good evening dearie", Rosie was calmly strolling over to Quinn. She had instead on taking over the cabin that Conner had been previously living in. She had of course made some adjustments in furniture and also scattered half a dozen gravestones around the immediate area. "Hello Rosie, have you come to see the new arrivals?", Quinn sat up from where she had been laying in the grass. "Oh, yes. I was wondering if all your new tenants would like a scone?", Rosie was holding a, by now, familiar tin. "Well, probably. Would you like a tour around the place while you're here? Me and Conner worked pretty hard to get this village up and running!" "Oh of course dearie!", and with that both Rosie and Quinn made their way into Haven. Quinn showed her every modest cabin and took her up the tower that marked the middle of the town, while Rosie dutifully handed a scone to everyone she made eye contact with. 

Rosie's visit lasted well into the next morning, with her being shown everything that could be shown to her. She said goodbye near noon the next day and as she disappeared into the distance Conner called Quinn over to help him collect more wood so that they could further expand Haven, to make room for any future inhabitants. By the time Quinn and Conner returned the sun was setting once again. As everything settled down, Conner retired to his cabin for the night, "Wake me if you need anything Quinn!" "Alright! I'll be out picking some berries I saw earlier, I'll be back shortly!", and with that Quinn made her way to the edge of town. She had finished picking the berries and was making her way back to town when she heard an odd melody in the distance that she had only heard once before. "Huh, that's weird, why do I hear boss music?", she looked up and nearly dropped the berries she was holding. A giant eye was staring down at her from the distance. She had seen floating eyes before but this one was absolutely massive! She could hear the music getting closer so she put away her berries and took out her flail in preparation. Just then a shape dashed out of the trees, it appeared to be female and she was wearing a gypsy robe and magic hat. She was also firing a minishark at the giant eye. "Come and get a piece of this ass you giant optical bitch!", a small slime was dashing at the eye in a means of attack, and it actually seemed to be hurting it. Quinn started to swing her flail and charged at the beast with a yell. Hopefully it would alert some of the townsfolk and she would get some much needed help to kill this thing. "What in the ever-loving fuck are you doing?!", the newcomer screeched as she continued firing at the eye. 

"What do you _think_ I'm doing?! I'm making sure your ass doesn't get fucking obliterated by this thing", Quinn shouted back, the newcomer rolled her eyes, "Oh how _noble_ of you, just what I needed a ego manic with a hero complex thinking that I'm some weak ass damsel in distress who needs her help!", She put her gun away momentarily to drink a potion and throw some knives at the eye as she dodged it's charges. "There isn't a single thing from this asshole that's gonna surprise me! I've seen all of it's shit before!", those words seemed to be spoken just in time as the eye spun around at a speed high enough to rip itself apart, revealing a gruesome mouth full of razor sharp teeth. "See! The fucking spin to win bullshit is what nearly did me in the first time! But now I'm ready for it!", the newcomer whipped out a grenade, pulled the pin out with her teeth and threw it into the eye's gaping mouth. The explosion disoriented the beast just enough for the two girls to get the drop on it, and it went down almost immediately after the explosion. Quinn sat down on the grass to catch her breath as the newcomer collected the eye's remains off the ground. "Who the hell are you?", Quinn asked in astonishment.

The newcomer stood up and cracked her back, then turned to Quinn. "You can call me Krystal".


	6. The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The stranger who killed the Eye, Krystal, has arrived in Haven. Due to a concerning revelation, Quinn takes Krystal to Conner for an eye opening conversation where a plan of action is formed.

Quinn and Krystal made their way into Haven, with the fruits of their kill loaded safely in their packs. "So what's the deal with this fancy town you got here?", Krystal didn't even turn to look at Quinn as she asked this, her attentions were turned strictly to the night sky as she watched it for enemies. "It's name is Haven, it was built by me and a friend for the people of this planetoid to live in relative peace and free of danger.", Krystal snorted at this, much to Quinn's annoyance. "You really think a few walls and doors are going to keep shit out of your town? This isn't just some random planetoid where we were sent on vacation. This is a high tech modified gladiator dome made for the entertainment of the rich fucks who run the system. Everything you see is made for the explicit purpose of providing entertainment at the cost of us, there is no peace here, and if the audience gets bored then they up the difficulty of our survival to keep ratings high."

Quinn looks at her companion in disbelief, "That's absurd! This whole planetoid has been abandoned by the system for years!", Krystal clicks her tongue as they come closer to the lights of the town, "Honey, that's what they want you to believe. That eye is a direct result of them trying to up the ratings! Me getting nearly killed the first time provided them with enough of a boost to put it back in reserves! However now that it's gone, they're gonna have to find something new to torment us with!", Krystal held up a shimmering purple stone, "At least we got this for our troubles." The two girls arrive into Haven, agreeing to put off later conversation until the morning. 

When morning comes, Krystal is introduced to the townsfolk. After all the welcoming is said and done, both girls head to the cabin at the outskirts of the town. "This is where Conner lives, if what you said is true then he needs to know as well." "Fine, but after that I'm going back to bed, I haven't slept that good in months.", Quinn knocks on the door and after a short greeting they enter into the cabin. "Well, what brings the two of you here? I'm afraid I don't have any pies ready at the moment, but I do have some tea!" Conner goes and fetches some mugs as Quinn and Krystal sit down. "Uh Conner, Krystal here was telling me something about why were all here, and I really think you should know", Conner turns to look at Quinn, then at Krystal. "Well, what is it?", as he sits down, Krystal starts telling him what she told Quinn earlier, when she's finished Conner takes a long sip of his tea and sighs. "Well, it makes sense. The big wigs back on my planet were never exactly the 'morally right' kind of sort. I'd imagine that the other planets in the system are the same." "Yep, that's correct. My planet is basically run by whatever mafia is on top each week, it's a miracle we haven't crashed and burned yet.", Krystal explains while she fiddles with a stray curl. 

"So, what do we do?", Quinn asks while looking at Conner. "Playing by their rules will only get us killed! We may be criminals but we deserve to at least have a chance here!", Conner looks up from his tea, "I agree with you completely Quinn, but the only way we can keep ourselves from facing greater threats is to play their game!" "Well then, we play their game, but we use our rules! I have survived every single damn thing those assholes have thrown at me so far, there is no way in hell I'm giving up now!", Krystal looks at Quinn with an intense gleam in her eyes, "If these fuckers want a show, we'll fucking give them one!"


	7. The Newcomers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The arrival of a new resident to Haven spurs Krystal and Quinn to explore even deeper into the woods around their home.

"Hey! Quinn! Come help me with this tree!", Krystal yelled out from the edge of their town. Quinn hopped over the wall surrounding the village as easily as she had many times prior. "It's been four fucking months, how do you not know how to chop a tree?". Krystal looks over her shoulder and glares at Quinn, "Just get over here and help me chop this fucking log you sarcastic green bean", Quinn huffs in a playful manner and jogs over with her axe to help Krystal break down the tree she had chopped down. It didn't take long for the two girls to bring all of the wood back to Haven. After an afternoon of building new cabins and patching up the older ones. While they were finishing up on patching the walls of Norsun and Tyrone's cabin for the fifth time that week, Krystal noticed a pair of newcomers approaching the outskirts of the town. 

Two women were approaching Purinity, one of them had a pair of fuzzy ears and the other was only clothed in vines. The woman with the fuzzy ears, which Krystal could now identify as fox ears, looked absolutely _ragged_ , her clothes were shredded and barley clung to her frame, her eyes were tired, and she appeared to have some rather serious looking injuries. The woman beside her clothed in vines was holding onto her as she limped towards the town. "Hold on there! I'll come to you!", Krystal yelled as she vaulted herself over the wall, Quinn ran off into the town the find the Nurse. "Easy now, that leg looks pretty bad. Luckily for you we have a Nurse living here so she can fix you right up", the woman with the ears looked up at her and nodded, too tired to form any words. "I found this girl stranded in the woods, I was on my way here already and decided to bring her with me", the woman wearing vines looked up from her companion, "My name is Rosalva, I am the last of the Dryads. I sensed your defeat of the Eye and began my journey here to meet you", Rosalva spoke in a quite voice, it was soft and world-weary, but still full of hope.

The woman with the fox ears was hauled away by Quinn and Kaitlyn so they could tend to her wounds. "Don't worry, your friend will be fine in no time!", Rosalva put her hand to her chest and sighed in relief. "That is some good news at least" "Come on, we have some vacant houses here, we can find you a place to stay while you wait for her to get better" "Oh? That sounds lovely, thank you for your kindness", and with that Krystal led Rosalva into Purinity . "So you were saying earlier that you were a Dryad? What's that?", Rosalva looked up at Krystal, "Oh! The Dryads were the race that inhabited this planetoid centuries ago, we lived peacefully here for eons until a great evil descended onto us. We fought bravely and managed to subdue the monster, but not without heavy casualties. After all was said and done, I was the only one who remained", Krystal looked at her in abject horror, not sure how to respond to the woman she has only known for an hour telling her about her tragic backstory. "Wow. That sucks", Rosalva and Krystal then continue to walk towards the empty cabin in silence. 


	8. The Corruption

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Krystal and Quinn learn of a disturbing new threat from the Dryad, and set out to destroy it. Little do they know that it cannot be defeated as simply as they thought.

After a few days of getting to know Rosalva and the woman with fox ears, known as Bindi, Krystal and Quinn were sitting in Rosalva's cabin where they were chatting. "So, how far have you two ventured into the forest so far?" "Not too far, only far enough to hunt and gather resources.", says Quinn who was vigorously munching on a piece of rabbit pie Conner had sent with her as a housewarming gift. Unfortunately Rosalva was a dedicated carnivore, so she did not partake in the pie on account of the many vegetables that stewed with the rabbit. "So you haven't encountered the Corruption?" "The what?", Krystal looked up from her mug of blood broth, which was surprisingly not disgusting. "The Corruption. The evil that descended upon the ancient Dryads left behind parts of itself that spread into their own biomes, the Corruption is the one closest to us at the moment", Quinn and Krystal looked at each other and then at Rosalva, "How dangerous is it?" "What loot does it have?", Quinn and Krystal both ask at the same time. "The Corruption is highly dangerous and it spreads, if it ever reaches Haven the we will all succumb to it's madness", Krystal and Quinn both grimace at the thought. "So what do we do about it? Stab the ground a couple hundred times until it goes away?", Krystal asks, while taking another sip of broth. "Not quite", Rosalva says as she leans back and sips from her own mug,

"So, we get in, smash the alters, use the powder, get out and BAM, no more Corruption! See easy!", Quinn recites her plan outload for the sixth time since the ventured into the forest, much to the annoyance of Krystal. "You don't have to keep repeating that, I heard you the first five times you said it", Quinn rolls her eyes at that remark and keeps pressing forward, Krystal occasionally batting away stray branches with her Slime Staff, with said slimes dutifully hopping along behind them. It had been hours since they set out from Haven, and both girls were growing more and more exhausted with each step. Krystal was just about to suggest setting up camp for the night when her slimes suddenly launched themselves at something above them. Krystal and Quinn shared a glace before drawing their weapons, the Minishark and Flaming Mace respectively. Before they could even think to strike the creature let out a shriek and fell to the ground in a lifeless heap. it was a rotted, pale brown with odd green hairs sprouting randomly from it's flesh. It had two sets of mandibles, with one being significantly larger than the other and five bulging eyes. 

They pressed on and with only a short walk from the corpse they emerged into a biome unlike any they had encountered before. The sky was unnaturally dark, the ground a deep violet and the landscape was a scattered mix of rotted trees and chasms that looked impossibly deep. The air around them had shifted to be freezing and oppressive, the unending stench of death permeated everything that existed there, including them. Neither girl spoke but they shared the same thought all the same. They had arrived at their destination. Quinn could spot more of those awful creatures from before floating in the distance, pecking and tearing at the corpse of a deer while large worms occasionally erupted from the ground. "So", Krystal started, "What now?", Quinn looked up, "It's probably best if we head back and regroup, if we fall down those chasms we're toast" "Yeah, yeah that sounds good, let's go before another on of those flying fucks spots us", and so they started on their journey back, deeply disturbed by even the existence of something with such unbridled malice ingrained into it's very core.

After another few hours of walking, the girls finally arrived back at Haven, more than ready for a good nights rest. "Hopefully Rosalva will be able to supply us with enough powder to purify that place. Even just thinking about being there is making me shiver!", Krystal looked at her companion, but was unable to speak, as she couldn't find the words to describe how she felt at that moment. She felt something wet touch her shoulder, and then her forearm, then heard it splat right in front of her. Both girls looked at each other and then looked up. Slime had just started to fall from the sky.


	9. The King

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the sky now precipitating sentient Jell-O, Quinn and Krystal must hurry to regroup before they get squished.
> 
> TW: Implied Sexual Content, Mild Panic Attack

Quinn had never run faster in her entire life. Slimes were falling all around her, Krystal was some ways away, shooting her minishark wildly at the sky. Chunks of the slimes that were unfortunate enough to get caught in Krystal's bullet spray splattered to the ground. Quinn pulled out her mace and began to swing it, anything to keep those sentient balls of ooze from touching her. Her heart was racing and her legs burned, but she kept running. She was nearly at the gates of Haven's wall when she heard it. A massive squelching thud came from the distance. She stopped under a tree for shelter and listened. It happened again but this time, she could feel the ground tremor beneath her feet. "Quinn! QUINN!", Krystal shook her by the shoulders for a few seconds before she regained her senses. "What the fuck is that noise?", Quinn whipped her head around to look her companion in the eye, "Why the fuck do you think I know? Your the one with all of the fucking foresight here!", just as the two girls were about to dive into a heated argument, they saw the source of the thuds on the horizon.

It was a slime. But it was not just _any_ slime. It was huge, it was blue, and it had a crown sat atop it in a way that almost made it look cute. It was so large that light could not fully penetrate it's translucent mass and it's center was pitch black. It was so large that it covered a distance that would take them an hour and a half to walk in just once, single hop. The worst part was that it was heading straight towards Haven, and gaining speed. "Oh god. Oh god, oh fuck, oh SHIT! Quinn! It's gonna crush the town!", Krystal was full on panicking at this point. Quinn would normally take this opportunity to slap Krystal across the face without fear of being dunked on, but she couldn't move. She was paralyzed, her heart was racing, her legs felt like they were made of lead. Krystal turned to her companion and froze. "Quinn?", no response, "Quinn?!", Quinn was staring dead on at the slime and still refused to respond, "QUINN!", finally Quinn snapped out of it and looked at Krystal. "What?", Krystal looked at her and then put her hand on her shoulder and leaned down, "Let's go murder this son of a bitch", Quinn tightened her grip on her weapon and nodded.

While the girls were having a murder positive heart-to-heart on the outskirts of town, inside of Haven everyone was loosing their shit. "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAAAT?!", Tyrone yelled on the front steps of his cabin, poorly covered in a robe with Kaitlyn standing behind him draped in his duvet, seconds away from screaming. Norsun burst out of the neighboring cabin wearing nothing but a pair of star-spangled boxers and armed with a grenade launcher, "I haven't got a clue lad, but do me a favor and give me backup!", was all he said before charging off with a yell in the direction of the slime. Tyrone startled and rushed back into his cabin with Kaitlyn behind him, soon both were adequately clothed and making their way to Norsun, who was lobbing grenades over the wall in an attempt of attack. Conner had ascended to the top of his cabin as was shooting arrow after arrow at the gelatinous beast, clad in his pajama pants, a nightcap, and a robe that loosely hung over his shoulders. Mortimer was atop the wall, still in his nightshirt throwing knives with an intensity never seen from him anywhere prior. Kaitlyn was busy attending to any wounds her allies acquired, as the fallen slimes around them advanced. Bindi was busy pouncing on and eviscerating any slime that got to close to her companions for her comfort, made easier by the fact that she was only clad in a loose t-shirt and some sweatpants. Rosalva had by now scaled the wall the same as Mortimer, but had put up a whirling shield of sharpened leaves to further dissuade their attacker.

"It's still advancing! We need more power to drive it back!", yelled Mortimer to his allies below, "AYE, DON'T YOU WORRY MY MERCHANTILE FRIEND, I'VE GOT ENOUGH GUNPOWDER HERE TO BLOW UP THE BLOODY SUN!", Norsun exclaimed loudly, he out of everyone in Haven seemed to be the only one actually enjoying the attack. Tyrone had cast aside the musket he was using and scaled the wall as well, he drew two identical pistols and starting firing them as fast as possible at the giant slime. "I think were making a dent in it!", he yelled to his friend below, "Keep on lobbing those explosives Norsun!", to which his friend responded with a hearty laugh, "AS IF YOU EVEN HAD TO ASK!".

A few miles away, Rosie was casually strolling towards Haven. "Hmmmm, it seems like my friends in Haven are having a bit of trouble this fine morning.", she shot a blast of crackling magic at a nearby slime, with the energy turning from a bright white to the slime's pale green, it returned to her and she re-absorbed it into her. "Yes, a fair bit of trouble indeed...", and with that she continued on, humming and blasting any pesky slime who dared to overstep it's boundaries.

Rosie of course, was right about the 'fair bit of trouble' as back in Haven, the giant slime was slowly, but surely making progress. "I'm not sure how much longer my shield will hold!", Rosalva cries, "Just a bit longer Rosalva! Quinn and Krystal will be here soon! I know it!", Conner responds back, truthfully he was seconds away from collapsing. He was tired, his arm was sore and it burned, he must have pulled something by now. He looked back at his quiver, he was nearly out of arrows, and nothing any of them did seemed to have any real effect on the slime. Luckily, as if whatever horrid god ruled over this land heard his cry, the sounds of rapid gunfire and feminine war cries could now just be heard coming from just outside the wall. 

"GET AWAY FROM OUR TOWN YOU BLUE RASPBERRY FLAVORED BITCH!!!", screeched Krystal, who was rapidly advancing towards the slime. "YEAH! WHAT SHE SAID!", screamed Quinn with equal intensity. The slime finally started to appear as if it was sustaining some damage, and turned to focus it's attacks on the two screeching gremlins approaching it. It's sides quivered and smaller, spikier slimes burst out of it. Krystal and Quinn were still gaining ground, despite having to dodge the oncoming array of razor-sharp spikes being launched at them. Just as the slime was about to jump towards them, a blast of white energy crashed into it's side, it turned the same deep sapphire blue before returning to it's caster. "How _dare_ you attack these wonderful people?", it was Rosie, and she sounded absolutely _livid_. 

Finally, with attacks raining down on it from all sides, the slime seemed to slump into itself, it quivered for a moment before exploding into a giant mass of blue jelly that splattered itself onto everything within a five mile radius. Krystal freed herself from the particularly large chunk that had landed on her and called out to her allies, "HEY! IF YOUR NOT DEAD SAY I!", from her left, Quinn flopped backwards onto the ground, exhausted, "I", a little further away, Rosie was scraping as much slime as possible off of her, "I assure you dearie, I am very much alive", nodding, Krystal turned her attention to Haven. She scaled the wall as nimbly as she could, dropping down and coming face to face with a very exhausted Conner. "Oh thank god your not dead!", he says while laughing breathlessly, it took Krystal a moment to respond, a bit occupied by how shirtless her friend was but managed to squeak out a half-hearted, "Yeah, me too".

After everyone regathered themselves and had ample time to rest, Quinn and Krystal journeyed back out of the town to search for any useful materials that the sudden influx of slimes may have left behind. They were nearly about to return back into Haven when Quinn spotted something. "Hey! Krystal! Look!", she pointed to a large mass of slime, which seemed to contain two velvet bags. After a quick retrieval of their loot and a more prolonged test of their new, slimey mounts. They returned to Haven once more, to have a well deserved feast and rest.


	10. The Calm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After defeating The King, Krystal and Quinn get some well deserved down time in Haven, with one of them trying to come to terms with a recent discovery they made about themselves.

After a long couple of weeks worth of cleaning up slime from everywhere in town imaginable, Haven was finally back to normal. After their collective victory over the slime, who had been dubbed 'The King' by everyone due to the giant crown it manifested atop itself, everyone had gotten much closer. Conner found his living room full of guests more often than not, Rosalva had no shortage of guests willing to listen to her recount the glory days of Purinity, and even Mortimer found his humble store being frequented far more than usual. There was also their newest addition, a mysterious man named Akbar who had a very odd interest in some very strange plants. It was quite a peaceful time in Haven, with the village actually living up to it's name. 

Conner was out and about, after pretending to take interest in Mortimer's 'wares' and deciding that he might as well buy some emergency torches, he ran into a familiar face on the way back to his cabin. "Oh! Hey Krystal! How are you on this fine afternoon?", Krystal turned to greet him, a warm smile decorated her face, something Conner had found that he enjoyed seeing on her. "Heya Con, anything good at Morty's?" "I'm afraid it's still his usual inventory, but I decided to pick up some torches anyway", the two of them continued to walk and talk on the way back to his cabin. "Did you know that flinx fur actually makes for a very insulating coat? Well, so I've heard. Real flinx fur was a high-end product on my homeworld, I could never afford to even look at it! Although I have heard rumors that a species of flinx is actually native to this planetoid! I find that quite interesting since usually they-", he looked over at his walking companion only to find her staring at him with a polite but somewhat lost expression. Of course, he couldn't just expect everyone to find the biodiversity of previously unexplored planetoids as fascinating as he did.

Krystal did not, in fact find the biodiversity of previously unexplored planetoids interesting in the slightest, however Conner looked terribly cute when he went on one of his passionate rants about one of the many odd things about their temporary world, so she didn't mind too much. Of course he chose that moment to shut up about whatever it was he was talking about, which only made her resolve to get better at making it look like she was listening to whatever he was going on about. She couldn't pin point exactly when she had started noticing that he was undeniably one of the most attractive men she had seen, but seeing him shirtless probably had something to do with it. It wasn't a problem though, she would get over it eventually, she had done it in the past and this was no different.

So what if his hair was the color of oak bark being hit by the sun's first precious rays during the early morning, so what if his skin was speckled perfectly with the cutest assortment of freckles, so what if his eyes were the color of molten chocolate, so what if that little gap between his front teeth made her heart skip a beat whenever he smiled at her, so what if she had to physically restrain herself from swooning whenever she caught sight of him chopping up firewood in the evenings, so what if he had a voice that was as clear as crystal and as sweet as honey. She had recovered from bouts of farfetched yearning before, even though the yearning she felt now was stronger than any she had felt in the past. It wasn't a problem, she could move past it, as she always has before. She knew she could. Even if she really didn't want to.

Luckily she didn't have much time to think on it as Conner had come to the wild conclusion that she must have had a mild case of heat stroke, as she had failed to realize that she had been staring at him for a couple minutes while she brooded over him, and ushered her into his cabin to rest. "Sorry about that, it really is quite hot today I should have prepared better", he had given her a glass of water, which she eagerly gulped down. Of course he was far too oblivious to realize that she was a completely different kind of thirsty. He didn't linger near her, instead opting to busy himself in his kitchen, no doubt putting that rabbit he skinned the day before to good use in a baked good of some kind. 

Krystal tried to leave, she really did, even though she wanted nothing more than to allow herself to drown in the gentle melody of the ever familiar song he sang whenever he decided to bake. Of course, Conner being the infuriatingly courteous man he was insisted that she stay for pie, which she was happy to do despite her protests. After they had finished eating dinner he instead that she partake in a bowl of the berries he had picked earlier that same day. Of course they simply couldn't eat in silence, so they talked, and talked, and talked some more. They talked so much that by the time they had finished their berries it had gotten quite dark. Again, Krystal tried to excuse herself, as she really couldn't stand another moment of being there with the knowledge that she would never get this kind of simple domesticity in her life with somebody like him. Of course he refused to allow her to leave at such a late time so he offered her his couch, as he did not have his guest room made up.

So as she settled down for bed, having previously said goodnight to her handsome host, she laid on his couch in silence. On the soft fabric of the sofa that she had helped him gather materials to build, wrapped in the quilt that he had gently, oh so gently, draped over her before he headed up to his bedroom for the night, listening to the cracks and pops of the fire slowly dying in the mantel. She laid there slowly drifting further and further into the clutches of sleep, telling herself that it was nothing but a mild infatuation, that she needed to pay it no mind, that the warmth that bloomed on her face whenever heard his laughter would wither within the next few months, and that the spark of affection and want in her heart would fizzle out shortly after. As she finally drifted off to the gentle sound of her desperate lies she pulled the blanket tighter around herself, wishing it was him.

**Author's Note:**

> Tome of Terra has a subreddit if you all are interested!   
> https://www.reddit.com/r/TomesOfPurinity/


End file.
